Afghanistan Crisis LIVE: America's Footprint In Kabul Is Now Over 5,200 Troops On Ground, Says US Army
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: EAM Jaishankar said that India is "very carefully" following the developments in Afghanistan and is ensuring the security and safe return of Indian nationals.
The US footprint in Kabul is now over 5,200 total troops on the ground. Kabul Airport remains secure and open for flight operations. Since the start of evacuation operations on Aug 14, we have evacuated approx 7,000 total evacuees: US Army Major General William “Hank” Taylor
If we go back to when the Department of Defense began supporting the State Department with movement of Special Immigrant Visas at the end of July, the cumulative number of people moved out of Afghanistan is 12,000: US Army Major General William “Hank” Taylor
"In our own immediate neighborhood, ISIL-Khorasan (ISIL-K) has become more energetic & is constantly seeking to expand its footprint. Events unfolding in Afghanistan have naturally enhanced global concerns about their implications for both regional and international security": EAM S Jaishankar at UNSC Briefing on Threats to international peace & security caused by terrorist acts.
President Joe Biden-led American administration has suspended all kinds of arms sales to Afghanistan on the pretext of Talian's takeover. US State Department's Political/Military Affairs Bureau said pending or undelivered arms transfers to Afghanistan have been put under review for the time being.
The government has decided to rescue Indian workers on priority and steps are being taken to contact them at the earliest, sources said here on Thursday. These Indian workers have been working on different projects in Afghanistan and are anxiously waiting to return to India after the Taliban took full control of the country on August 15, 2021.
The Indian authorities are also considering treating other government documents like Aadhaar card or voter identity cards for those whose passports were taken away by the local employers who ran away from the cities fearing Taliban. (IANS)
Amrullah Saleh, who has declared himself the acting president of Afghanistan, on Thursday cautioned both the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan. Writing on Twitter, Saleh asserted that the rule of law and not violence should be respected.
"Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don't let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups (sic)," Saleh tweeted.
Several Afghan nationals living in Delhi flocked to the Australian, US and Canadian embassies here on Thursday in the hope of getting visas. After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Afghan diaspora is desperate to migrate to some other country as their visas for India have either expired or are about to expire.
Muskan, an Afghan citizen, told IANS, "We got a message from them that you come to the embassy, you will get a form to fill, while we will cooperate with all the Afghan citizens in Delhi."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced to block Afghanistan's access to the emergency reserve worth USD 460 million as the Taliban's control over the country has drawn uncertainty for the country's future, a media report said.
The decision followed pressure from the Biden administration to ensure that the reserves did not reach the Taliban, New York Times reported
Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don't let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups: Amrullah Saleh, acting president of Afghanistan
As far as India is concerned, we will wait and watch. India has not broken diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. We are hoping that the Taliban will be reasonable and wise: Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh
An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in Afghanistan at 1122 hours today: National Center for Seismology (NCS
Afghan nationals queue up outside Australian embassy in New Delhi for Visas
Afghan nationals gather outside Australian Embassy in New Delhi.
The United States reiterated Wednesday that it did not see Ashraf Ghani as a figure in Afghanistan after the ousted president vowed to return.
"He is no longer a figure in Afghanistan," Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters as she declined to comment on the United Arab Emirates' decision to grant him asylum, as quoted by AFP.
A day after they promised more inclusive governance and presented a conciliatory face after their violent blitz to power in Afghanistan, at least three people were reportedly killed in anti-Taliban protests in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, witnesses said, as the militant group tried to set up a government and Western countries stepped up evacuations of diplomats and civilians, quoted Reuters.
Senior Taliban members have met with former president Hamid Karzai and senior official Abdullah Abdullah as they seek to form a government in Afghanistan, pledging it will be "positively different" from their brutal rule two decades ago.
A top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday the United States expects the Taliban to allow Afghans who wish to leave Afghanistan to depart safely, following reports that the group now in control of the country was blocking airport access.
The evacuation of thousands of U.S. diplomatic personnel and civilians as well as Afghan citizens who worked with the U.S. government has become more difficult since the Taliban seized power over the past week.
Firing heard in Jalalabad as residents protest over the removal of Afghan flags.
Background
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: In his first address to the nation after fleeing Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani, speaking from exile in the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that he had left Kabul to prevent bloodshed and denied reports he took large sums of money with him as he departed the presidential palace.
'If I had stayed, I would be witnessing bloodshed in Kabul,' Ghani said in a video streamed on Facebook, his first public comments since it was confirmed he was in the UAE. He left on the advice of government officials, he added.
Ghani has been bitterly criticised by former ministers for leaving the country suddenly as Taliban forces entered Kabul on Sunday.
With the Taliban now in control in Kabul, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that New Delhi is "very carefully" following the developments in Afghanistan and India's focus is on ensuring the security and safe return of Indian nationals still in the war-torn country.
Jaishankar, while addressing reporters at the UN Security Council stakeout after chairing an open-debate on peacekeeping under India's current UNSC Presidency, said, "that (situation in Afghanistan) is really what has been very much the focus of my own engagements here, talking to the UN Secretary-General and other colleagues who are here as well as the US Secretary of State."
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